Mariscos La Riviera Nayarit

Marlin Tostada

Forget tuna salad, this is what’s for lunch!

Salsa & Extra Lime On The Side

This might not be the prettiest of salsas. But, it sure was good and spicy.

Tostada Mixta

Heaping with a giant mound of shrimp and octopus, the Tostada Mixta was more than big enough to be a meal. Whole shrimp and chopped octopus were tastily mingling with avocado, tomato and sliced red onion. Hefty pieces of cucumber decorated the outer edges.

Ceviche De Camaron Y Pulpo

This ceviche had small chunks of shrimp and octopus tossed with finely diced tomato and cucumber. Thin slices of red onion and chopped cilantro round out the blend of ingredients. All of this was tossed in a refreshing vinaigrette that was alive with the flavors of citrus and vinegar. It’s a perfect dish for summer.

Filete Rey

Meal for two, anyone?

If you don’t mind white cheese melting over your fish, the Filete Rey is a generous feast for two.

This dish of gargantuan propotion was accompanied by a mountain of buttery rice, a heap of french fries and a griddle toasted roll topped with a buttery garlic spread. Both shrimp and octopus were tender. But, the octopus was especially so. It was so light and tender the pieces almost dissolved under the pressure of our tongues. Those bites of octopus were the first things to disappear off of this giant platter. It was pure pleasure to eat.

3 comments to Mariscos La Riviera Nayarit

We finally got our office group over to Mariscos La Riviera Nayarit for lunch, with my wife joining us. For drinks, three of us ordered lemonade, the pineapple juice and horchata. The fellow who ordered the pineapple juice was not sure if he’s like it, so the waitress was kind enough to bring half a glass to the table as a “sample”. I ordered the horchata and my only complaint was that by the time I was finishing it, the ice was making it watery. These were huge drinks!

We noticed there was a filete vegetariano on the menu, which was encouraging for those who prefer veggies. Not being a fish lover I was tempted to go for that, but I ended up with the filete crema de hongos (pardon my Spanish if I got that wrong), which was a tilapia fillet topped with mushroom sauce. I think all the dishes we ordered were $15.99, which is pricey for lunch.

The tilapia was grilled and so tender it just about fell apart at the touch of my fork. This was NOT Mexican food as I knew it. It was rather bland, so I just had to drizzle some of that wicked salsa picante on the tilapia, much to the amazement of my table-mates. (A note about that – I did warn them about the salsa, but they claimed I had not. It is every bit as hot as you’ve heard, but when used properly, makes the dish much more interesting.)

My wife had the piña rey, half a pineapple cut out and filled with a mixture of shrimp, octopus (maybe squid), shell fish, peppers, mushrooms and onions. The pineapple flavor is what made the dish, in my opinion. (The serving was so large, she couldn’t finish it, so I just HAD to help her out!)

Two people at the end of the table ordered filete rey – grilled tilapia covered in a similar seafood mixture with cheese melted over it. I think that has already been mentioned.

Across from me was an order of grilled shrimp. It came with a sauce which, I’m told, tasted like ranch dressing, and went better with the salad and fries than the shrimp. For the shrimp, she poured out some Mexican ketchup – black-label Valentina sauce in a bottle on the table – and dipped her shrimp in that.

Every plate was served with fries, salad, and toasted bread. The salad was disappointing, a chunk of lettuce with other veggies stacked around it. We asked for some dressing and the waitress was happy to bring some to the table.

There were live musicians. They played several songs for one table before we left. It was not very crowded, but then it was Thursday afternoon. And it was certainly family friendly with several couples bringing kids.

It was pricey for lunch. But, as one person said, she wanted to return at night and see what the place is like then. Everybody enjoyed it and decided we want to return – but not before our next paycheck.